CHAPTER 118: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

"I told you back then buy gold, buy platinum, or even some jade jewelry if nothing else."

"But no, you had to listen to those bullshitting girlfriends of yours and insist on buying a fucking diamond ring..."

The argument between the couple grew increasingly heated, and once money became the focus, it escalated beyond control.

"You owe all that money, and they call me every day, even my parents! How do you explain that?"

"Bullshit! Did you spend any less? Every time I withdrew money, you spent it too. And you used your credit card plenty yourself, didn’t you?"

"My parents help me pay mine back! If you’re so capable, why don’t you get your parents to pay yours?"

"Daniel, you bastard! I must have been blind to ever fall for you!"

"Yeah, yeah, and I fucked you like a bitch too."

"Fuck... Can you even get hard now? If I let you, could you even do it, you worthless piece of shit?"

That line seemed to be the final straw. Daniel’s eyes reddened, and he slapped her hard across the face.

After learning the whole story, Luis stroked his chin, utterly speechless.

Both sides totally deserved it with insults flying like that, it’d be weird if no one threw a punch. But then again, his sister-in-law Nancy was pretty fierce kicking Daniel right in the dick, then running out and calling the cops.

After all, Daniel was a rich kid with a nasty temper, way more spoiled than Nancy. With that kind of attitude, there was no way he’d just take an insult lying down.

Especially when Nancy said he was impotent... any man would fly into a rage. Luis was especially curious about that part, could it be that this brother-in-law had taken a decades-long shortcut straight to impotence right at thirty?

"That bastard Daniel actually dared to hit her? How dare he!"

Arriving at the police station entrance, he ran into Ruth, who was absolutely furious. Judging by her aggressive, blame-shifting energy, she was clearly boiling with anger too.

"Mom, don’t be angry yet. Let’s hear the full story first."

Luis held her back. With her shrewish personality, he was afraid she’d only make things worse once inside.

The door to the mediation room was wide open. As soon as Luis got close, his head started throbbing. Nancy’s roaring voice came from inside:

"My face is swollen! This isn’t a family dispute, it’s domestic violence! I want a medical examination..."

Inside, Nancy sat to one side, still strikingly beautiful, except her face was slightly swollen and red, clearly showing the mark of a slap.

The moment Ruth saw it, she rushed over, cupping her daughter’s lovely face with heartbroken tenderness. Gnashing her teeth, she said, "My baby! Where is that bastard? How dare he do this to my girl? Mom will fight him to the death!"

"Mom!"

Already crying pitifully, Nancy immediately hugged her mother and sobbed with grievance. For a moment, mother and daughter clung to each other, weeping as if someone had died.

A young tigress and an old tigress, even a total outsider could tell these two were not to be messed with.

"Mom, you and big sister stay here for a bit. Let me figure out what’s going on first."

Luis shot a look at the officer handling the case. The cop could also tell this newcomer meant business and promptly followed Luis out of the room.

In the hallway, Luis offered him a cigarette. "How should I address you?"

"Deputy Captain of Public Security, Gasle."

In his early forties, with a square jaw, sharp eyebrows, intense eyes, and a piercing gaze.

Gasle offered a helpless, bitter smile. He was dedicated and capable at his job, having finally worked his way up from the grassroots to the municipal bureau. He thought he was finally done dealing with trivial, ridiculous, melodramatic disputes between uncles and aunties.

But not long after he’d settled in, before he could even enjoy the good life, the bureau launched a "business guidance down to the grassroots" initiative. He got reassigned back to the front lines for a one-year stint. He’d already endured six months of it.

Even though he’d likely make deputy director after this, only those who’d been through it knew just how absurd grassroots drama could be.

Today’s incident was a domestic dispute, a single slap wasn’t enough to qualify as domestic violence, especially since Daniel hadn’t chased after her or used any kind of weapon.

Mediation was the goal, that’s all. Both the captain and deputy captain were out on assignments today, so naturally, as the senior officer, he stepped in.

At first, hearing it was a young couple, Gasle thought it wouldn’t be too hard. At least they’d be more reasonable than older folks, and easier to talk to once they cooled down.

But when he saw them, good lord.

Daniel was clearly a spoiled brat, furious about being dragged into the station.

As for Nancy, stunningly beautiful but making a huge scene, she was hard to please yet hadn’t done anything extreme.

Normally, in this kind of mediation, if it’s between spouses, you talk it out, they make up, and there’s no need to call in family. But these two were tough nuts to crack.

The experienced Gasle immediately separated them and called their families.

"Brother-in-law?"

After Luis introduced himself, Gasle frowned. "Will she listen to you?"

Calling family was risky. One, the relatives might be even more unreasonable and escalate the conflict into a full-on brawl between both sides.

Two, the person who showed up might have no influence, unable to persuade the involved parties or make decisions making it a waste of breath. Luis seemed like the latter.

Probably sensing his hesitation, Luis joked wryly, "Captain Gas, my mother-in-law is famously the biggest shrew in the neighborhood. I doubt you want to deal with her."

"Uh..."

Gasle had already picked up on that, which was why he came out as soon as Luis signaled.

The former type was even harder to handle. Though the beautiful mature woman looked incredibly sexy and alluring, the way she’d burst in crying suggested she’d be even more difficult.

"Don’t worry, I still have some say at home," Luis said confidently.

"Your mother-in-law will listen to you?"

Gasle accepted the cigarette but took out his lighter and lit it for Luis.

Now Gasle was smiling warmly, mostly because he liked this young man. They understood each other with just a look, sometimes even colleagues didn’t have that kind of courage.

Luis grinned smugly.

"Yes, and my sister-in-law will, too."

"Oh? You’ve got some skills. How?"

Gasle couldn’t help teasing. "I work for the government, but my mother-in-law still nitpicks everything I do."

"Because I’ve got a few stinkin’ dollars."

Luis chuckled. "Just this month, I bought my mother-in-law thousands of dollars worth of gold jewelry."

Gasle nodded as if everything made sense now and laughed along. The reason was simple, crude, and utterly convincing, way more effective than any high-minded nonsense.

"Could you handle the persuasion here? I’ll go check on the other side. Your eldest brother-in-law’s family has been notified. It seems they have some connections, but it’s a minor issue. Don’t overthink it."

Gasle said lightly, "Hitting someone is still hitting. Family conflicts must be resolved. Don’t be pushy, but it’s also impossible to just let it slide."

"Understood. Thank you for your trouble."

On the surface, Luis appeared simple and honest, even somewhat dull. In reality, having grown up without parental love since childhood, he was practically raised by his grandparents like an orphan.

He entered society early and had already endured all the hardships one could face. Inside, he was sharper than anyone, and his ability to read people and situations was no worse than that of professionals.

Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, Gasle, feeling relieved from the work pressure, suddenly came to his senses and chuckled wistfully, "Calling me ’sir’ so respectfully, even without flattery, it makes people feel comfortable."

"If someone like him makes you feel at ease, there’s only one possibility: his IQ is higher than yours."

Back in the mediation room, the mother and daughter had mostly stopped crying.

Luis lit a cigarette and pretended to understand the situation. Ruth said furiously, "He must go to jail. I can’t even bring myself to hit my own daughter, how dare he..."

Nancy simply cried without saying a word, her tear-streaked face utterly pitiable and heartbreaking.

Ruth’s loud cursing echoed through the hallway, and even Gasle could hear it from downstairs.

He sighed inwardly, convinced his decision was right, it was better to pin his hopes on this brother-in-law. Dealing with such a stubborn, shrewish woman would cost anyone dearly.

He must be an angel sent by heaven to redeem me, seeing how badly I’ve been tormented by these disrespectful old folks.

After cursing for a while, Ruth was surprised to find that her eldest daughter, who usually shared her temperament the most, remained silent. This was strange, especially since Nancy was the victim.

When she looked again, Luis was sitting to the side, smoking without a word, his face completely expressionless.

Ruth suddenly felt a little guilty. "Um, son-in-law, did I say something wrong?"

Nancy also felt timid because she realized that the brother-in-law she once looked down on was now silently smoking with an expressionless face, exuding an intense and irresistibly masculine aura.

"Mom, don’t be naive."

Luis stubbed out his cigarette and said bluntly, "How could Daniel possibly go to jail? If this is classified as a family conflict, mediation is the priority. If mediation fails, you’ll have to sue yourselves."